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by Cliff Rold - It may or may not turn out to be a good fight. We know going in we have an intriguing match. A pair of Olympians, both with one narrow loss apiece, have arrived at a chance to win their first major title.
Only one of them will pull that off.
For Dirrell, many expected this moment years ago. The athletic gifts were evident when he won Bronze at Middleweight in 2004, ousted by eventual Silver Medalist Gennady Golovkin. He came close to a title against Carl Froch in the first round of the Super Six tournament in 2009 but inactivity has plagued him in the five years since. He won his second tournament fight but claimed a lasting injury from a disqualification win over Arthur Abraham and withdrew. Dirrell all but vanished until three fights in 2014 and watched as his brother Anthony won, and lost, a belt in the division and Olympic teammate Andre Ward win the Super Six.
If Dirrell is ever going to make a statement, the time is now.
DeGale bettered Dirrell at the 2008 Games in China, winning Gold at Middleweight. Where Dirrell’s only loss came to Froch, DeGale saw his unbeaten mark broken early in a clash with George Groves. The majority decision was debatable, but it’s what came of it that counts. DeGale continued to toil. Groves rode the win to a pair of clashes with Froch.
The Froch-Groves clash drew over 80,000 fans.
DeGale has to wonder if that could have been him. Maybe it can be some day. A loss on Saturday would be a dramatic step away from those sorts of dreams. [Click Here To Read More]
Only one of them will pull that off.
For Dirrell, many expected this moment years ago. The athletic gifts were evident when he won Bronze at Middleweight in 2004, ousted by eventual Silver Medalist Gennady Golovkin. He came close to a title against Carl Froch in the first round of the Super Six tournament in 2009 but inactivity has plagued him in the five years since. He won his second tournament fight but claimed a lasting injury from a disqualification win over Arthur Abraham and withdrew. Dirrell all but vanished until three fights in 2014 and watched as his brother Anthony won, and lost, a belt in the division and Olympic teammate Andre Ward win the Super Six.
If Dirrell is ever going to make a statement, the time is now.
DeGale bettered Dirrell at the 2008 Games in China, winning Gold at Middleweight. Where Dirrell’s only loss came to Froch, DeGale saw his unbeaten mark broken early in a clash with George Groves. The majority decision was debatable, but it’s what came of it that counts. DeGale continued to toil. Groves rode the win to a pair of clashes with Froch.
The Froch-Groves clash drew over 80,000 fans.
DeGale has to wonder if that could have been him. Maybe it can be some day. A loss on Saturday would be a dramatic step away from those sorts of dreams. [Click Here To Read More]
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